Friday, March 03, 2006

I Love This Kitty

52 Comments:

Please know that lots of people care about you and love you because you are a very kind, wise, and special person! Adults could learn a lot from you. Imagine: it took a little girl -- you! -- living in a very violent part of the world to remind us how important it is to always take the time to see the beauty in life! You will always be successful as long as you can find something that makes you happy. You are very smart to figure out that cats could bring us all together! You have my caring thoughts, best wishes, and gratitude. Long live Baghdad Girl! From BjFord3 in New Hampshire, USA

You are probably going to get lots of comments; you were mentioned on National Public Radio in the United states. Which is how I found you.

This is the best cat picture! This is probably what my cat looked like when she was little. We (my family) got our cat when she was about 7 months old. She was a stray, so we never knew what she looked like. So I'm really glad to see this!

Dear Baghdad Girl, You have a beautiful soul and it shines through the words you write and the pictures you show us. I wish you peace, love, and a long life. Iraq forever, Cats forever, Baghdad Girl forever.Sandy HittDe Pere, WisconsinUSA

So glad to see another kitty or two (actually three, right). I worry when you don't post, though I realize you are busy with school and all. I never heard the NPR mention, but yes, prepare for lots more views and comments.And many good wishes!

Last Saturday morning, Scott Simon talkeda bout Baghdad Girl. He visits the web site with his young daughter to enjoy the pictures of the kitties. Among other things, Scott said "long live cats, and long live Baghdad girl."

It is true: you are an inspiration! I know there is probably still difficulty with electricity around where you live, so I am glad you are able to post more cat pictures! They make me smile. I am looking forward to seeing many more.I think you are very brave and courageous to live in this time. I have to believe things will get better! I hope you and your family are well. Please take care and keep in touch. From BJFord3@juno.com in New Hamshire USA

Today I went into the garden with my cat BoBo. Then we looked at your little Kitten picture. My cat is with me right now. We send you hopes and dreams of safety and love, for all the cats and all the children.

Please tell your kitten, who has a very wise face, that sleeping in the sunshine with the girl who loves you is the best part of any day.

By the way, I just saw the pictures you posted in the past of your own cat / kittens. They are very cute!Try not to worry about them too much: you may have heard that cats do have nine lives, after all!From BJFord3@juno.com., in freezing cold New Hampshire

Raghda - I heard about your blog on NPR (national public radio)- I love your site. I love cats too. I used to have 2 now I only have one. His name is Homer and he doesn't have a tail. Sometimes we call him "no tail".I am sorry about the war and the destruction of your country. I pray everyday that the US leaves your country. I write letters and protest and will continue to do so. Thank you so for your site. Long live baghdad girl and of course long live cats! :)

The cats are lucky to have you because you love them so much. They must love you a lot, too, for taking such good care of them. I look forward to seeing which pictures of cats you post next! It's also a good way to let us all know you're okay. We worry about you. Your English is very good. I wish I could speak Arabic, or maybe Chinese. from BJFord3@juno.com , New Hampshire, USA

Dear Raghda,I am glad to see you back! :) This kitty reminds me of a caterpillar for some reason, but it is very cute! I like the three friends, too. How are your cats doing? Especially, I would like to ask about Fluffy. He was the cutest!Take care.

Hi, Raghda.Here's an update: I went to adopt another cat (a very large black and white one named Chester) yesterday but someone else had already taken him home earlier in the day! I was told his new family is from the neighborhood he came from, and they had already taken in another stray that Chester knows. I'm happy he got a home, and I love my 3 cats, so it's okay. Speaking of updates, when you have time please post another picture so we know you're okay! We worry when we don't hear from you!

Hi,Raghda.I created a blog just so that I could share some favorite cat pictures with you. It's BJFord3.blogspot.comI just put a photo there. I hope you enjoy it. I want to get a digital camera soon so that I can post photos of my pets.I just wanted to thank you for all the work you're doing to get the cat pictures out there to brighten everyone's day! Take care. Hope all is well.

hey baghdad girl well iwas listenin to the radio and heard about you and dicided to chek the site out! Your a great rolemodel for everyone weather they are young or old....you certinle inspired me!Well i wish you all the best and i hope that everything will go great from now on!I LOVE ALL THE PIX THAT R UP!by the way are some of the cats yours?

These cats are very cute. But why do you avoid talking about real stuff, like Ayesha - she was very cute too, was she not?

Ayesha was only 6 years old when she was married to a guy who claimed: "My word is the only truth and should be obeyed by all until eternity, at the risk of the sword." But of course, he could do anything he wanted - including what he did to Ayesha - and did not have to obey anyone.

If he wants me to obey him today, then I will judge him by the standards of today.

I hope all is well with you. I would like to tell you about a project I did for school about 6 months ago that actually involves you, a little bit. If you go to http://www.angelfire.com/art3/batesondesigns/CatsHouseindex.html, and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see what I mean.

Your blog is getting a lot of attention after the recent National Public Radio story! I just wanted to say that many people in America care about what is happening in your country and pray that you will be safe. Although we are far apart, I am thinking about you and hoping you are well. I love cats too...keep posting your great pictures!

I love the look on this kitty's face:) Even better I love hearing from you again.I send you the best chi and hope that each day brings something bright and beautiful to you.My 2 cats have figured out how to make their own catnip tea! They have a catnip toy that looks like a tea bag...they throw it in the water dish and wait. We all wish you the best life has to offer.Cats rule! Baghdad girle rules! Peace to all.

Your site is exceptional and the cat photos are terrific. I have 3 cats, 2 outdoor and 1 that is both indoor and outdoor. If you would like photos, I will email to you.Please keep posting. We hope you are well and happy and stay that way.

I hope you are simply busy with school work and happy family matters.The news we get from Baghdad is so dire, I worry about you and your family and your cats.My cats send fond greetings your way: the very fat fluffy Destiny, striped Pippin, black and white Pirate, and others.

On your site, I was reminded of two cats I had when I was about 8 years old, in rural America... this story is kind of sad, but I remember these cats as vividly as I did when I was a kid in the mid-1970's.

We had an orange cat. He was not particularly affectionate, or pretty, but we had him out of a litter of four. He was absoulutely no fun at all. He went away for long periods of time, and came back home when he pleased. Sometimes he brought us dead mice as a "gift" and we threw them in the trash but always so he didn't notice, so he didn't think we didn't appreciate his efforts.

Anyway, one morning I was a little kid playing in the yard and a grey tabby cat came strolling up as if he was already living there. He rubbed against me as if I was his best friend in the world, so I gave him some of the orange cat's food (the orange cat was gone at the time) and pretty soon I begged my mother to let us keep him. Finally, my mother said "OK," since the orange cat was hardly ever around anyway.

The next morning, I was playing in the yard again, early in the day, and the grey cat came walking up, meowing, and this time he had a buddy... a black-and-gold striped tabby, who came meowing also! Both came up as if they were just old friends, and acting as if this was perfectly normal.

Well, I fed the grey's buddy too, but I didn't know if my mother would approve of this. Both cats acted like this was perfectly okay, but I could tell, even as a little kid, that the new cat was taking directions from the grey one.

My mother was exasperated, and said that we COULD NOT have another cat, but it was obvious that we couldn't have one without the other. When we put the black and gold one out, it would meow and meow until we let it in to be with it's friend.

With the two of them now planted in the house, it was only a matter of time before the orange cat came home. He did. Coming in, the orange cat growled at the newcomers, but they pretended not to be interested in him. They watched, patiently, while he ate his food and orange growling, while they made no motion to offend him. It was obvious the orange cat, who often came home with cuts and scrapes, could not figure these two strange cats out.

It was only when the orange cat took his place at the rocking chair that the two cats (who had been sleeping there before) decided to have fun with him. They tapped him with their paws behind the back of the chair where he couldn't hit them. One would distract him while the other would tap him from behind. The more the orange cat got angry, the more funny the two thought this was. After a few days of this, the orange cat gave up the chair and the two tabbies had it for themselves.

Did they stop at this? No! We also had a dog who was allowed to come in the back door, with a chain on his neck so he didn't come in the rest of the house. The two tabbies figured out exactly how far his chain reached. They would then swat him on the nose when he was sleeping, run a little farther back than his chain would reach, then pretend to not be interested when he barked and barked and yanked at his chain at them. Those kitties were so michevious! I think they thought this was all very, very, funny!

One behavior they both mastered was to meow and meow at you and then jump up in your arms at the same time, so you would catch them both. On one occassion, they did this when I had a squirt-bottle in my hand, so I squirted them with water instead. My mother said this was very mean, and I felt very sorry for doing that.

When I was away at a relative's house, my family had a party. Unfortunately, the gold and black tabby decided to sleep in one of the guest's car. The guest wasn't aware of it until he pulled over at a gas station and the cat jumped out and ran into the woods.

Black and Gold tabby's friend, the grey one, sat around the house for a few days moping, then left. My mother let him go outside one morning, thinking nothing of it, but he didn't come back.

Ironically, orange cat stayed with us for a five or six years afterwards, coming and going every few days. He became so scratched and beaten up, we wondered what he was doing out there... obviously fighting with other cats. He looked very disgusting. We had already adopted another grey kitty by this time, but orange cat didn't seem to care. Orange cat even tried to be affectionate. One day, Orange just stopped coming by. About a year later, so did the other grey kitty.

Life is like this... I've never owned any cats since leaving home, but I'll never forget any of the ones that passed through my life when I was a kid. Best wishes to your family,

I haven't visited your blog for quite a while. I'm very happy to see you still posting and putting up kitty pictures! That is great that you were mentioned on NPR! You seem to have many more new cat-lover readers! Best regards Baghdad Girl.

Hey Raghda,We hope you are doing well. We look at your site all of the the time in the U.S. Our three year old daughter Aliyah loves kitties and we wanted a place to look at them. We've been keeping track of your kittie pics for about a year now. We think about you often. We are so proud of you and your spirit. What a great way to bring people together! Our daugther's birthday is May 1st and she is having what else? A kitty party! I'm going to try to make a cake shaped like a kitty. Wish me luck. Wish you could be there too. Again, we send our best to you and your family.

About Me

My name is Raghda. I am an Iraqi Architect who was born in Baghdad in 1991. I lived through the 2003 invasion of Iraq and came out the other side. I now live and work in Dubai. I wrote my story during war in Baghdad Girl Blog and now I will tell you my story after war in Baghdad Girl: Part 2.